Noticeboard

All patients at Garswood Surgery have been allocated a named GP. Your named GP is either;

Dr H Parr

Dr D Lawson

Or

Dr A Newton.

Please ask at Reception if you would like more Information.

Prescription ordering for

Christmas 2018

Order by Monday 17th December, at the latest, to ensure your prescription will be ready to collect by Friday 21st December.

Prescription orders taken after this date will be ready on or after Thursday 27th December

04.12.18

DECEMBER CLINICS

DUE TO EXTREMELY HIGH DEMAND FOR URGENT APPOINTMENTS OVER THE MONTH OF DECEMBER BECAUSE OF ILLNESS, THE PRACTICE WILL HAVE NO ROUTINE APPOINTMENTS THIS MONTH. JUST URGENT. UNFORTUNATELY, IT IS NOT A PRACTICE DECISION; IT IS A CCG LEVEL DECISION. WE HAVE NO CHOICE.

WE JUST ASK FOR YOUR PATIENCE AND UNDERSTANDING DURING THIS TIME.

THANK YOU

DRS PARR, LAWSON AND NEWTON.

Unfortunately the Practice cannot register patients from Billinge Surgery, at this time. This is being constantly reviewed, but the partners do not feel that it is appropriate at this time.

We will be taking part in the Worlds Biggest Coffee Morning on Friday the 28th September from 10.00am until 11.30am to raise funds for Macmillan Cancer Support. Please feel free to join us for cake and refreshments.

Need Urgent Dental Care?

If you need help with an urgent dental problem, call our helpline, available from 9am to 9:30pm everyday, including weekends and Bank Holidays.

0161 476 9651 (Local Rate)

Local dental providers offer NHS urgent dental clinics across Cheshire and Merseyside, with urgent appointments for patients who need urgent treatment, advice and support on dental queries or referral to other services.

The service is provided according to strict clinical criteri

a and when you call you'll be assessed by a member of our clinical team to make sure your problem come under either:

Trauma - this is usually caused by a blow to the face, a lost filling is not classed as a trauma.

Swelling of the face

Bleeding, uncontrolled, such as after an extraction

Pain that can't be controlled by pain relief medicines.

If you're given an appointment and your problem doesn't fit of the above, you'll still have to pay the NHS fee but may receive advice and not treatment.

Clinic times vary.and at busy times or when your local clinic's not available you may be offered an appointment at an alternative location.

Please not: this is an appointment only service - we do not operate a "drop in" service at any of our surgeries

Practice Policies

Zero Tolerance

The Practice takes it very seriously if a member of staff or one of the doctors or nursing team is treated in an abusive or violent way.

The Practice supports the government's 'Zero Tolerance' campaign for Health Service Staff. This states that GPs and their staff have a right to care for others without fear of being attacked or abused. To successfully provide these services a mutual respect between all the staff and patients has to be in place. All our staff aim to be polite, helpful, and sensitive to all patients’ individual needs and circumstances. They would respectfully remind patients that very often staff could be confronted with a multitude of varying and sometimes difficult tasks and situations, all at the same time. The staff understand that ill patients do not always act in a reasonable manner and will take this into consideration when trying to deal with a misunderstanding or complaint.

However, aggressive behaviour, be it violent or abusive, will not be tolerated and may result in you being removed from the Practice list and, in extreme cases, the Police being contacted.

In order for the practice to maintain good relations with their patients the practice would like to ask all its patients to read and take note of the occasional types of behaviour that would be found unacceptable:

Using bad language or swearing at practice staff

Any physical violence towards any member of the Primary Health Care Team or other patients, such as pushing or shoving

Abuse towards the staff in any form (written or verbal)

Racial abuse and sexual harassment will not be tolerated within this practice

Persistent or unrealistic demands that cause stress to staff will not be accepted. Requests will be met wherever possible and explanations given when they cannot

Causing damage/stealing from the Practice's premises, staff or patients

Obtaining drugs and/or medical services fraudulently

We ask you to treat your GPs and their staff courteously at all times.

Attending for appointments

If for any reason you are unable to keep your appointment or no longer need it, please let us know as soon as possible so that it can be reallocated. Please remember that there is always a shortage of appointments and when you fail to attend (DNA) you have prevented someone else from being seen in your place. Patients who repeatedly fail to attend appointments may be asked to find an alternative GP. For more information about our Did not Attend (DNA) policy please click here.

Using your confidential patient information for Research and Planning

Confidential patient information is used to:

· plan and improve health and care services

· research and develop cures for serious illnesses

Most of the time, we use anonymised data for research and planning so your confidential patient information isn't always needed but if you don't want your confidential patient information to be used for research and planning, you can opt out of this. If you do opt out, there are some specific situations where your data may still be used. Data that does not identify you may still also be used.

Your confidential patient information will still be used to support your individual care. Any preference you set using this service will not change this. Click here to learn more.

The Accessible Information Standard

In England, people with a sensory impairment and/or learning disability, as well as parents and carers, have the right to accessible information and/or communication support when using health and social care services.

Please tell us if your speech, language or communication needs (SLCN) require us to provide information in a in a different format or offer communication support.

Needing help with interpretation where English is not a familiar language

The scope of the Standard extends to individuals (patients and service users, and where appropriate the parents and carers of patients and service users) who have information and / or communication support needs which are related to or caused by a disability, impairment or sensory loss.

This means that if a person is deafblind or has a dual sensory loss and needs information such as appointment letters in a format other than standard print, or an interpreter for a health or social care appointment, this must be provided for them.

Whilst the Accessible Information Standard does not cover those who need information translated because English isn't their first language, or other aspects of accessibility in care such as signage or hospital transport, language interpretation services can be arranged by prior appointment.

Confidentiality and Access to Records

We make every effort to ensure that information about you is not given to other people without your permission.

If you wish members of your family or other named individual(s) to ask for test results on your behalf, collect your repeat prescriptions or cancel appointments, etc., please let us know as we will require your consent.

We consider the NHS England Confidentiality Policyfor primary care confidentiality to be best practice and we endeavour, as far as is reasonably practical, to act in accordance with the NHS model.

Freedom of Information

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 obliges the practice to produce a Publication Scheme. A Publication Scheme is a guide to the 'classes' of information the practice intends to routinely make available.

Medical Records

Your medical record card is a life long history of any consultations, treatment, investigations, etc that you have had with your doctor since birth. It follows you around wherever you live in the UK and for that reason you should always let us know of any change of circumstances so that we can ensure that the information we hold about you is accurate.

Even though these days most surgeries use computers, the information held on computer is printed out and a copy placed into your medical record card should you move to another doctor.

Your Right to Privacy

You have a right to keep personal information confidential between you and your doctor. This applies to everyone over the age of 16 and in certain cases those under 16, however, in order look after you properly we normally share some information about you with others involved in your care, unless you ask us not to. This could include doctors, nurses or others involved in the treatment or investigation of your medical problems.

Because we are a teaching practice, involved in the training of medical students and GP registrars, if you see a registrar or medical student during a consultation, they would be allowed access to your medical record.

The practice staff also have access to medical records. They need to perform tasks such as filing of letters, processing repeat prescriptions and provide information about blood tests, etc.

Everyone working for the NHS has a legal duty to keep information about you confidential.

Where Else Do We Send Patient Records?

We are required by law to notify the Government of certain infectious diseases for public health reasons, eg meningitis, mumps, salmonella and other similar infections (but not AIDS).

Doctors cannot refuse to co-operate with a Court of Law without risk of serious punishment.

Solicitors ask for sight of medical records, however, in every such instance, the request will be accompanied by your signed consent. A Solicitor would usually need sight of your entire medical record since limiting access usually means he is unable to fully represent your case. If you do not want to grant full access, you can ask that the records be supplied between two relevant dates rather than allowing a solicitor unrestricted access.

Insurance Companies ask for medical reports on prospective or current clients. Similarly, prospective employers may also wish to investigate your medical history before confirming your appointment to a job. Your signed consent will always accompany such requests. GPs must disclose all relevant medical conditions unless you ask us not to, however, we would then have to inform the requestor that you have instructed us not to make a full disclosure to them, You have the right to see such reports before they are sent, however, if you elect to exercise that right but then do not attend to see the report it will be dispatched to the requestor after 21 days.

Anyone who receives information from us is under a legal duty to keep it confidential.

Can I Find Out What is in My Medical Record?

Using Patient Access you can have on-line access to your medical record, test results and medication free of charge 24/7. Click here to learn more about how to sign up for our on-line services.

Individuals have the right to access their personal data. This is commonly referred to as a subject access request. You can make a subject access request verbally or in writing. We have one month to respond to a request. in most circumstances this will be provided free of charge. Please note: We must make every reasonable effort to ensure that there is no breach of confidentiality when responding to a subject access request. Please download and complete thethis formto submit a written request. A verbal subject access requests will require suitable picture ID and proof of address completion of this form at reception.

We have a duty to keep your medical record accurate and up-to-date. Please inform us if you believe there is an inaccuracy in your record.

Please note: Medical records in this practice contain statements of opinion about the likely diagnosis accounting for your problem at a particular time. This diagnosis is entered in order that we can monitor the basis of our actions such as prescribing interventions, etc. Since it is an opinion expressed at the time, it is not unusual for the diagnosis in any episode to differ from it. Often when illnesses are first presented to a doctor, the range in severity of symptoms does not allow more than a tentative diagnosis.

NHS Information Security Management

'Continuity of Care' Philosophy at Garswood Surgery

We have now been in practice here in Garswood since May 2004 and know most of our patients as individuals, ie care should be ‘personal’ to a large degree. We know this is what people want; this is what we want to deliver; and this is usually linked to important benefits in health and in other ways.

In order to make our system clearer for everyone to understand we have consulted patients and their representatives on the ‘Garswood Steering Group’. Following their suggestions we would like to explain how our appointment and other systems are designed to enhance personal, continued care.

When you contact the practice about your health, if you require an appointment with a doctor the staff will ask you to give some indication of the problem. This is to help us to direct you to the most appropriate person or service to deal with your needs. However, you do not need to tell the staff the reason and we shall always respect your wishes. The staff will also ask you which doctor you normally see and they will try to give you a timely appointment with them, although this may not always be possible owing to annual leave etc.

If the doctor asks you to make a further appointment, at the end of the consultation, this will normally be for you to see that doctor again.

Our records are available at all times for all the practice team so that we can know what has happened already [eg. any recoded drug allergies] and can continue your care in the event that you do now see the same person on a subsequent occasion.

For terminally ill patients we make particular efforts to give continued care, especially when home visits are required. We also inform ‘St.Helens Rota’ out-of-hours GP service so that they can be aware of any particular needs in case they are contacted.

Patients' Access to Medical Reports

If a patient wishes to see a medical report, this must be marked clearly by attaching a piece of paper to the report so that it is not sent off inadvertently.

When the report is ready we will contact the patient and asked to come and view the report.

When they have had the chance to read the report, they must sign a declaration on both copies of the report as follows:

'I have read the attached report of …' (enter number of pages) pages.

Signed

Date

Name

The report will then be sent and the copy will be retained at the surgery.

If there is something that a patient objects to, they should make a routine appointment to discuss the report with the doctor who has written it. They cannot take a copy of the report away in the meantime – ‘because the doctor wants to discuss the medical content of the report’.

Emailing Reports on Patients

We cannot offer this service since we do not know who the recipient is.

We need written consent to provide any report that the patient will not be collecting in person themselves.

The new General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR)

With effect from 25 May 2018 the former 1995 Data Protection Act (DPA) is replaced by the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR).

The aim of the GDPR is to protect all EU citizens from privacy and data breaches in and increasingly data-driven world that is vastly different from the time in which the 1995 DPA directive was established. Although the key principles of data privacy still hold true to the previous directive, many changes have been propose to the regulatory policies; Click here to learn more about how we handle your information